20 June 2014 -- The purpose of World Refugee Day is to draw attention to the plight of refugees, celebrate their courage and resilience and renew commitment to solving refugee problems. It is also an opportunity to recognise the contributions that refugees make to the countries that host them.

Refugees in numbers

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today on World Refugee Day that the number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people worldwide has, for the first time in the post-World War II era, exceeded 50 million people.

UNHCR's annual Global Trends report, which is based on data compiled by governments and non-governmental partner organizations, and from the organization's own records, shows 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2013, fully 6 million more than the 45.2 million reported in 2012.

This massive increase was driven mainly by the war in Syria, which at the end of last year had forced 2.5 million people into becoming refugees and made 6.5 million internally displaced. Major new displacement was also seen in Africa – notably in Central African Republic and South Sudan.

For advocatesRefugees in the UN System of Human Rights Protection(by Jacqueline Kacprzak, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights-Poland)This lesson plan consists of exercises related to the problems faced by refugees. Focus is on the application of the Refugee Convention and the activities of the UNHCR.

For health professionalsExamining Asylum Seekers: A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and Psychological Evaluations of Torture(by Physicians for Human Rights)This guide is designed specifically for medical or mental health professionals seeking to develop knowledge and skills needed to conduct clinical evaluations of asylum seekers and assess physical or psychological evidence of torture and ill-treatment. Several sections of this guidebook are based on recent international guidelines for medical/legal documentation of torture.

For humanitarian workersIASC Training Modules on Internally Displaced Persons(Norwegian Refugee Council/Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)Comprehensive training package on internally displaced persons. This online training program consists of several modules which, used alone or together, discuss the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons guaranteed by international law. The following modules are currently available on-line: A Definition of Internally Displaced Persons; Legal Origins and International Obligations; Protection from Displacement; Return, Resettlement, and Reintegration; and Recipients as Resources: Community Based Programming.

For teachersLesson Plan on Refugee Children(UNHCR)This unit of lessons has been designed to help young students to empathize with the plight of refugee children, to become aware that children from all over the world have similar needs.

Debate: America, Refugees and Asylum(Michael Hutchison)This lesson plan accompanies the film Well-Founded Fear (108 minutes) which offers a view into the world of the immigration authorities in the United States who have to make decisions about whether or not they grant asylum and "reveal the dramatic real-life stage where human rights and American ideals collide with the nearly impossible task of trying to know the truth". The lesson plan is in debate format and addresses background of refugee problems and its international context, refugee law and its international context, and the interpretation of laws by immigration officials.

Refugee Roleplay(Amnesty International)This lesson activity uses a roleplay where refugees and border officials express different points of view on the rights of refugees to increase students' knowledge about refugee rights.

International and regional documents on refugees and displaced persons: